Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Astilbe hybrida cultivar Rhythm and Blues.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Astilbe plant, botanically known as Astilbe hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Rhythm and Bluesxe2x80x99.
The new Astilbe is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Heemskerk, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to develop new compact and fast-growing Astilbe cultivars.
The new Astilbe originated from a pollination made by the Inventor of two unidentified Astilbe hybrida selections, not patented. The new Astilbe was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant by the Inventor in a controlled environment in Heemskerk, The Netherlands in 1995 from the resultant progeny of the pollination. The new Astilbe was selected on the basis of its rapid growth rate and red purple-colored flowers.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by divisions taken at Heemskerk, The Netherlands, has shown that the unique features of this new Astilbe are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar Rhythm and Blues have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Rhythm and Bluesxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Rhythm and Bluesxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Astilbe cultivar:
1. Upright, mounded and compact plant habit.
2. Rapid growth rate.
3. Freely and uniform flowering habit.
4. Red purple-colored flowers.
Plants of the new Astilbe are most similar to plants of the parent selections. Plants of the new Astilbe differ from plants of the parent selections and other Astilbe cultivars known to the Inventor in inflorescence shape, plant height and flower color.